"Internet users worried about their personal information being intercepted by U.S. intelligence agencies should stop using websites that send data to the United States, Germany's top security official said Wednesday." Cute, but pointless. France does it too, as does the UK. Documents from the Dutch intelligence agencies indicate that they, too, are involved in mass surveillance, the extent of which will supposedly be investigated by parliament.

First of all, I made a comment about the general public looking to avoid being tracked by US companies who sell personal information or hand it over to the NSA, under circumstances which we could do with further detail on.

I am well aware of the technical methods one might use to circumvent being tracked but this isn't about you or me.
This is about the masses who won't understand such methods or even know how much is being recorded about them.
They're being told by a government minister that to avoid being tracked they should avoid US websites except many of the alternatives will still have ties to US companies and that is what I highlighted.

FTR, I don't have a problem with security services targeting specific individuals based on evidence and snooping on their traffic. Hell, if they suspect me then I don't have a problem with them looking at my traffic but this isn't the problem.

People with technical knowledge can avoid being tracked, presumably terrorists apply similar methods to avoid detection but the people who've done nothing wrong are having the details of their lives recorded and the captured information is available to individuals who don't have to justify their access or sold to marketers. That's the problem.